Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-07-30

until the basket touched the ground ana
discharged its magnificent cargoa Not
one of their names has come to us, but there
was no work done that day in Damascus or
in all the earth compared with the i'm
| portance of their work. What II they
| had in the agitation tied a knot that
could slips What IL the sound Of the mob
at the door had led them to say: " Paul
must take care Of himself, and we will take
care OF ourselvesT No, mol They held the
rope, and in doing SO did more for the Chris
tian church than any thousand Of us will
| ever accomplish. But God knows and has
made eternal record of their undertaking.
| And they know. How exultant they must
have felt when they read his letters to the
Romans, to the Corinthians. to the Galatians.
to the Ephesians to the Philippians, to the
Collossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy,
| to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews, and
| when they heard how he walked out Of
prison with the earthquake unlocking the
| door for him, and took command OF the
Alexandrian corn ship when the sailors were
nearly scared to death, and preached q SER
mon that nearly shook Felix off his Judgment
| seat hear the men and women who helped
him down through the window and over the
| wall talking in private over the matter, and
| saying: "How glad am that we effected that
| rescued In coming times others may get the
J glory of Paul's work, but no one shall rob
| us OF the satisfaction Of knowing that we
held the rope.
Once for thirty-six hours we expected
| every moment to go to the bottom Of the
ocean. The waves struck through the sky
! lights and rushed down into the hold of the
! ship and Missed against the boilers. It was an
awful time; but by the blessing of God and
the faithfulness of the men in charge, we
| came out of the cyclone and we arrived at
home. Each one before leaving the ship
thanked Captain Andrews. l do not think
| there was a man or woman that went of
that ship without thanking Captain Andrews,
| and when years after l heard of his death
| was impelled to write letter OF condo
| lence to his family in Liverpool. Ev-
erybody recognized the goodness, the cour-
age, the kindness of Captain Andrews; but
| it occurs to me now that we never thanked
the engineer. He stood away down in the
| darkness amid the kissing furnaces doing his
whole duty. Nobody thanked the engineer,
| but God recognized his herOism and his con-
tinuance and his fidelity, and there will
be just as high reward for the engineer who
worked opt Of sigbt IS Il. for the canttain Mho
| stood on the bridge OF the ship In the m1dSe
of the bowling tempest.
There are said to be.about $1,000 ministers
of religion in this country. About $4,000 l
warrant came from early homes which had
to struggle for the necessaries of life. The
sons of rich bankers and merchants generally
become bankers and merchants. The most
| of those who become ministers are the sons of
those who had terrific struggle to get their
everyday bread. The collegiate and theologi.
| cal education OF that son took every luxury
from the parental table for eight years. The
other children were more scantily appareled
The son at college every little while got
bundle from home. In it were the socks that
mother had knit, sitting up late at
night, her sight not as good as once
| it was And there also were some
delicacies from the sisters hand for
the voracious appetite of hungry student.
| The father swung the heavy cradle through
the wheat, the sweat rolling from his chin be-
| dewing every step of the way, and then sit
| ting down under the cherry tree at noon
thinking to himself: ~ am fearfuly tired but
| it will pay if can once see that boy through
| college, and if / can know that he will 30
preaching the Gospel after am dead" The
| younger children want to know why they
can't have this and that as others do, and the
| mother says: "Be patient, my children, until
your brother graduates, and then you shall
have more luxuries; but we must see that
| boy through"
The years go by, and the son has been
ordained and is preaching the glorious
Gospel, and great revival comes, and souls
by scores and hundreds accept the Gospel
from the lips of that young preacher, and
| father and mother, quiteold now, are visiting
the son at that village parsonage, and at the
close of a Sabbath of mighty blessing father
and mother retire TO their room, the son
lighting the way and asking them If he can
do anything to make them more comfortable,
saying if they want anything in the night
just TO knock on the wall. And then, all
alone, father and mother talk over the
gracious influences of the day and say:
"Well, it was worth all we went through
to educate that boy. 1t was hard pull, but
| we held on till the work was done. The
world may not know it, but, mother, we held
the rope, didn't weg' And the voice, tremu-
lous with joyful emotion, responds: "Yes,
father, we held the rope. | feel my work is
done. Now, Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy
| salvation s.Pshawm saws the father. 81
never felt so much like living in my life as
now. | want to see what that fellow is going
| on to do, he has begun so WE'LL"
Something occurs to me quite personal. l
was the youngest Of large family Of child
rem. Ny parents were neither rich nor poor; ;
| four of the sons wanted collegiate education,
and four obtained it, but not without great
home struggle. We never heard the old peo-
pie say once that theywere denying themselves
to effect this, but l remember now that my
parents always looked tired. / don't think
they ever got rested until they lay down.
in the Somerville cemetery. Mother would
sit down in the evening and say: swell,
don't know what makes me feel SO
tiredw Father would fall Immediately
to sleep, seated by the evening stand
overcome with the days fatigues. One of
| Jnc -FOUR DroJnerS, alJer preaching Jne goSpei
for about fifty years, entered upon his heav-
emily rest Another of the four is ON the
other side of the earth, missionary of the
cross. Two of us are in this land in the home
ministry, and think all of us are willing to
acknowledge our obligations to the old folks
at home About twenty-one years ago the
one, and about twenty-three years ago the
other, put down the burdens OF this life, but
they still hold the rope.
o, men and women here assembled, you
brag sometimes how you have fought your
way in the world, but ] think there have been
helpful influences that you have never fully
acknowledged. Has there not been some in
fiuence in your early or present home that
the world cannot see! Does there not reach
to you from among the New England hills,
or from western prairie, or from southern
plantation, or from English or Scottish Or
Irish home 1t cord Of influence that has kept
you right when you would have gone astray,
and which, after you had made crooked
track. recalled youl The rope NAV be as
long as thirty years, or five hundred miles
long, or three thousand miles long, but hands
that went out of mortal sight long ago will
hold the rope. You want very
swift horse, and you need to rowel
him with sharpest spurs, and to let the
reins lie loose upon the neck, and to give a
shout tn the razor II vou aro 0oino IN ride